in my senior year of college i took a philosophy class because i needed the credits to complete my degree. "took" is a strong word, i skipped most of the lectures in favor of dance practice. however, to pass the class i did need to do some assignments and one of them was reading and writing about Peter Singer's "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" and the core argument has stuck with me ever since. for those who aren't familiar, Singer essentially argues that if one can use their wealth to reduce suffering for others, without a significant reduction in their own wellbeing, then they have a moral obligation to do so. he uses an analogy of a child drowning in a shallow pond and you, a bystander, notices and decides to help but in doing so get your new clothes muddy.
that's a super high level overview from a course i took over 3 years ago now, please read the actual essay if you want to know more. but the reason i'm writing this is not to discuss the claims of his essay specifically, but rather my own observations and thoughts on us (as humans) helping each other out - because we're all we've got. this will likely turn into an incoherent ramble.
division in the the usa has been unfortunately a common theme for from the founding of this nation til today, but in writing this, i'm thinking more on "current" events. anger, hatred of this nonexistent "other", fear, propaganda are very powerful tool employed by the "people" in charge. these are fed to so many people (predominantly those that have always been favored in unjust systems that run our country) to get them to hate this idea of the "other", these "other" that are going to ruin "your" country, your jobs, "your children's lives", etc etc. all some bullshit, but it works so effectively because these create non existent threats for these people that distract them from real issues at end. a lack of education & propaganda is a huge part of this, but i want to focus on what i think is the other part - empathy (or the lack thereof). i understand this doesn't exist in a void though, a lack of education contributes to a lack of empathy.
my parents have always preached empathy. it was and is embedded in every action my mom takes and im so very lucky to have had that taught to me. i've always been taught to treat others with kindness, with empathy. but i've noticed that the default perspective that people take towards other people not "like" them (either in skin tone, culture, language, whatever) is one of apathy, or even just hatred. why? why is it so difficult to see someone else as another human and just help them? an example of this is when someone calls a person who doesn't have stable housing a "homeless person" and treats them as this category of person, their entire personality and identity based around the fact they cannot afford housing. like they're this dangerous "other" that needs to be policed, monitored, jailed, not given a place to sleep or rest, not given food or water to survive. why? because they were unable to afford rent in an economy that's fucked? or when people see migrants crossing borders and immediately think their own lives will be ruined by these people. why? why do people not stop to ask why are people choosing to leave their own homes to travel to a foreign country where they may not know anyone, where they risk deportation, where they risk their lives coming over? (hint: it might be due to the usa)
maybe its a naive view, taking this empathy first approach for people. actually, fuck that i don't think its that naive. i think this should be the way we treat other humans. a meme comes to mind of 3 different colored eggs, but when you crack them, they're all the same inside.
so what is there to do? i hate this doomer view i keep seeing online or hearing from people about "well, that's just the way it is". this defeatist mindset is half the reason things are the way the are, bystander effect or whatever the right term is. i used to be like this around voting. back in highschool and early college, i used to think "none of this voting stuff even matters, two parties are the 2 sides of the same coin, etc, etc". while i think in general that specific statement is true, i feel much more educated now then i did back then (but always learning) on political issues happening here and around the world and truly believe now that every drop of change makes a difference (and obviously voting matters). what there is to do, is to care (and learn!) there are some evil fucks in this world that have that hatred for minorities or anyone that doesn't fit their world view. its not the job of underrepresented peoples to treat folks that hate them or actively want to harm them with an empathy-first approach. my writing is more targeted to those apathetic people. please care. the next time you see another person that isn't in your "in" bubble/worldview, just remember that's another human too, just like you. they have their own complex lives, like you. maybe they weren't as lucky as you were, maybe they were just born in the "wrong" place. its a shame to not see your fellow humans like this, because we're all we got. yes there is tons wrong with this world but there is so much beauty in humanity and it takes just one of us to notice and extend that empathy to someone else. caring is the first step to action and action is the step that leads to change.